Surviving The Wild
by DianneRose2016
Summary: After a hard mission Ed, age 18, comes back to Central only to find out that the team has to spend 2 weeks in the woods for a survival training course. A new team member that Ed has never met, one who is obsessed with the blonde, how will Ed and Mustang handle this, while trying to keep their relationship a secret? Just what will this man do to Ed while they are alone in the wild


_**A/N: I've read a few different stories where Team Mustang has to go through survival training together. I thought it would be fun to do a story on my take of what could happen out in the wilderness for our favorite team. This will be a RoyXEd story and will contain some dark themes mixed into some good fluffy moments all around.**_

 _ **Things to Note: Ed has both automail and his father sacrificed himself to get Al's body back.**_

 _ **Summary: Ed is eighteen and has been out on missions since the Promise Day. Ed has been going on missions for the last three years on his own for Mustang and just when he finally thought he would be able to get a break he is sent back to Central to participate in a team survival training that is required for all soldiers. With the team out in the Northern woods they have to fight to survive for two weeks or risk their careers. But with a new team member that Ed has never met, one who is obsessed with the blonde, how will Ed and Mustang handle this, while trying to keep their relationship a secret? Just what will this man do to Ed while they are alone in the wilderness?**_

 _ **Story Warnings: Sexual assault, drugging, swearing, sexual situations and violence.**_

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Chapter 1

It had been two months since Ed had been back in Central. He had been spending the last two months on a mission down in the South Border area just helping to keep the peace along the border of the countries. The downside of being the Hero of the People. That title only got worse after the Promise Day. That was just over three years ago now, Ed was eighteen and had been for six months. After that day Ed had stayed with Al for two months while he recovered. It was hard on Al to learn that their father had sacrificed himself to grant Al his body back. It also costed Ed his right arm once again, but Ed didn't care Al was more than worth it to him. Thankfully he didn't have to go through any rehabilitation. He was just given his arm back to how it was before Al had performed his transmutation during the fight.

During the two months that Ed was in Resembool with Al Mustang and Havoc were able to be healed by Dr. Marcoh and they had returned to work. Mustang was promoted to Brigadier General afterwards and he had spent his time working on repairing the damage that had been done by Bradley. Once Al was healed enough Ed had decided that he didn't want to leave the military just yet. Ed had always thought that he would give it all up once Al was back to normal, but after everything the thought of leaving hurt. He would miss all of the friends he had made during his years of service. He would miss travelling around to see different areas and meeting new people. Ed enjoyed helping other people and being in the military helped him do just that. Al wasn't too happy about it. He had been hoping that Ed would travel with him and they could learn more about different alchemy and culture within the world. Al had decided to go himself and Ed was alright with that. He had also gone with two of the chimeras that they had fought alongside and that eased Ed's worries a great deal. They write to each other and call when they can. Ed had seen Al whenever he was able to, but it was time for them to be their own people and for Al to discover who he was now that he had his life back Ed wanted Al to explore and enjoy life as much as possible.

During the past three years Ed had made his own progress on being himself. The most shocking was the drunken night he spent with Mustang six months ago. The night he turned eighteen. The whole team had celebrated and gone out for drinks now that Ed was of legal age, though he had a few in the past since the Promise Day thanks to Havoc and Breda. He had somehow ended up back at Mustang's place and the next thing they both knew they were making out and very quickly progressed to giving each other head before they passed out. The next morning was awkward and they both agreed that it was a very good thing that they didn't have sex. Especially because Mustang knew that Ed was a virgin and he didn't want his first time to be some drunken night. It was bad enough that his first kiss was when he was drunk. They had both agreed to never mention it and pretend like it never happened. That lasted all of a week before they were alone in Mustang's office one night finishing some paperwork. Ed still doesn't know who made the first move, but one minute he was sitting on the couch next to Mustang working on paperwork and then he was on his back with Mustang on top of him making out. It took everything in them that night not to have sex on the couch. The only reason they didn't was because Mustang said he deserved better for a first time.

That first time came three days later when Mustang had told him to come to his house. When Ed got there Mustang had cooked them dinner and then led Ed up into his bedroom. The room was lit with candles all around the room and on the floor were red rose petals. Ed knew what it was and he was nervous at first, but Mustang had simply told him that nothing would happen in that room that Ed didn't want. All he had to do was say stop and they would. Ed knew in that moment that he wanted Mustang to be his first. He wanted him that night and it was the most romantic evening of his life. Mustang had always been sweet and gentle with him. He had always made sure he was never too rough so that it would hurt. After that night they had never labeled themselves as in a relationship. They were just their normal selves around each other or other people. They kept work and personal separate and it never bothered them at all. For six months they had been together and Ed couldn't have been more shocked that they hadn't killed each other yet. For some reason they just worked so well together, they complimented each other.

Now it had been two months since they had seen each other. Mustang had sent Ed on a mission down South and it was only supposed to be for a month, max. That was until a mass murderer had been spotted and was going from small village to small village killing and destroying everyone and everything in his path. Ed had been chasing him for the past month before he finally caught up to him. The fight had taken a lot out of Ed and it weighed heavily on his heart. Ed had been spending the past two months sleeping on the ground, roughing it. He didn't even have a sleeping bag or tent. He had no supplies, nothing. Now he was back in Central, he was covered in dried blood and mud all over his clothes. He had bruising all over his torso, arm, leg and his face from the fight. Not to mention the beautiful bruise around his neck in the shape of a hand. The murderer was huge and had some kind of device on him that made it so he wasn't able to be injured or stopped by alchemy. It was something Ed wanted to look into and had brought it back with him so he could do just that. Ed was not happy that this device could help criminals continue to commit crimes and hurt people.

Ed's whole body was hurting him. His back was the worst of it from sleeping on the cold and hard ground with his automail was not fun. He was exhausted and just wanted to take a hot bath and sleep in a bed for the next three days straight. Ed first had to go to Central HQ to hand in his report that was due, long overdue, and it would let him see Mustang before he was off from work. Ed had tried to get some sleep on the train, but the seats were uncomfortable and he just couldn't sit very well with the pain in his back and body. Once he finally arrived at HQ he headed straight inside and up to Mustang's office.

Ed had a limp right now from all of the walking and running that the month long chase had put him through and Ed knew he would need to put some heat on it to get it back under control again. When Ed arrived at Mustang's office he walked in and smiled at everyone as their attention turned to the sound of the door opening. Mustang still had the same office that he did before so everyone was there. Even Mustang was sitting at the other desk in the room instead of the one in the connecting office that he typically used. Mustang only used this desk when he didn't have a drowning amount of paperwork and wanted to be social. They all gave him a warm smile and Havoc stood up and went to give Ed a hug.

"Hey Chief it's good to see you."

Ed put his hand up to hold Havoc off as he spoke. "I would not hug me right now. I'm covered in dried blood and mud. And the closest thing to a shower I've had in the past month is when it rained."

Havoc stood there for a moment and Ed could tell he was reconsidering his original idea before he shrugged and spoke.

"Don't care." Havoc pulled Ed into a hug and Ed hugged him back.

"Are you okay? Is the blood yours?" Fuery asked with worry in his voice.

Ed answered as he pulled back. "It's not mine. I'll be fine after a hot shower and sleep."

"What happened Fullmetal? I sent you on a month long mission at max only for you to come back a month late and chasing after a mass murderer through the South." Mustang said and Ed knew the annoyed tone in his voice was only for show as no one knew that they were together.

"I didn't think it would take a month or I might not have done it, but after the first week it was really the principal of the matter." Ed said as he moved to hand Mustang his report and the limp didn't go unnoticed.

"Injuries?" Mustang asked as he got up to get a closer look at Ed.

"It's just bruising." Ed said dismissively.

"Why the limping then?" Hawkeye asked.

"I'm just sore. Two months of sleeping on the cold, hard ground with automail will do that to you. Plus the month of running after someone through difficult terrain. I just need a hot shower and sleep." Ed said as he half sat down on the edge of a desk.

"Where did the blood come from?" Breda asked.

The pain in Ed's eyes didn't go unnoticed by the others and they knew he had seen something terrible.

"I was on my way to the train station and I had to pass through this small tent town. I went through and found them all dead except for one. He had his stomach cut open and his organs were out. I tried to help him, but without a doctor there wasn't much I could do. He told me who the man that attacked them all looked like. I had remembered hearing about a mass murderer in the South going around and eliminating small villages. The man died and I went to a military reporting station and got more information about this murderer and started the chase. I knew roughly how long ago he had been at that village and what direction he was going. I was about twelve hours behind him. Every village I came across they were all either dead or dying. I tried to save anyone I could, but they all had too many fatal injuries. There was a two year old little boy." Ed said as he stopped for a moment trying to collect his emotions. The others had all moved closer around him so they could hear what had happened.

"Take your time Big Guy." Breda said gently. They had all seen different levels of war and battles from their time in the military. Some more than others. They could see that what had happened truly bothered Ed more so than the other missions or the Promise Day.

Ed took a shaky breath in before he continued. "I found him being covered by who I'm assuming was the family dog. The dog was covered in blood, but it wasn't his. The little boy, he wasn't crying, but he was alive, barely. He had been stabbed in the stomach, he was cold and pale. He had lost too much blood. There wasn't anything I could do. So I did the only thing I could think of. I picked him up and held him against my chest. I couldn't save his life, but I could make sure he died being held by someone that wouldn't hurt him. When he was gone I placed him in his mother's arms and placed a blanket over them. The dog followed me until I got to the next village where I left him with a nice family with two small children. They said they would take good care of him."

"Oh shit Kid." Havoc said sadly with hurt in his voice for the pain that Ed had seen and had to endure during what was supposed to be a simple mission.

"Someone will claim them right? I mean I reported it and the Sergeant said they would make sure everyone was buried properly and their family notified. Someone will find them all." Ed said more to himself than the others but he looked over at Mustang because to him Mustang always seemed to have these answers.

"They would have already contacted the Investigations Divisions here to have a squad sent down to start making the identifications and transferring the bodies to where they need to go. It'll take time, but they will all be buried with markers in a cemetery." Mustang answered, but kept his voice calm knowing that right now was not the time to take Ed in his arms and comfort him.

"Four hundred and thirty-eight victims in six weeks by this man. Four hundred and thirty-eight dead or four hundred and thirty-nine dead I guess I should say." Ed said with shock in his voice still at how one man could kill so many people in such a short amount of time.

"Four hundred and thirty-nine?" Falman asked.

"I finally caught up to him eighteen hours ago roughly. He um… he had this device that made it so alchemy wouldn't work on him or around him. He was three hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle."

"Hence the bruising." Breda said. They all knew Ed could fight better than any of them in hand to hand, but even with his added height and weight he wouldn't have been able to handle someone of that size in a fast fashion.

"Ya. It was an all out brawl for about four hours through this deserted village. At the end he had has hands around my neck and there was a shard of metal lying by my side. I didn't even realise I had grabbed it." Ed said with distant eyes and they all knew who was the last person to die. Ed's instincts had kicked in and he took the man's life. Something that most of them had been through, but it would be hard on Ed. He had always done everything he could to avoid killing someone, even someone that deserved to die like Envy.

"He was going to kill you and then continue to slaughter villages until someone else was able to get to him. You did the right thing. Even if it doesn't feel like it right now." Mustang said and didn't even try to keep the soft gentle tone from his voice.

"I know. I know. I um… I took the device he had I wanted to do some research into it. See if there are others like it out there. Where it came from." Ed said trying to change the topic.

"That's a good idea. We can't risk other criminals discovering a device like that." Hawkeye said.

"Take a few days to rest first though before you start investigating. Talk to Armstrong he might have heard of something through the grapevine." Mustang said.

"I will. For now shower, food and sleep. Lots of sleep in a soft bed."

"How's your back? Do you need to see someone?" Havoc asked as he knew that Ed had been having trouble with it after rough missions. He had given Ed a massage in the past a few times to help get the knots out.

"I think I just need sleep to let it get back to normal. I'll put some heat on my leg when I get to the dorm." Ed answered.

The door to the room opened and a man walked in. He had dark brown hair, green eyes, was five foot-eleven and weighed easily two hundred pounds of muscle. He was wearing the traditional soldier uniform that everyone wore, but Ed still to this day. Ed liked to wear his black leather pants and his red coat because it was practical for him. Plus people easily recognized him now and knew he was someone they could trust. The man gave Ed a huge smile before he stood at attention and saluted Ed.

"Major Elric, it is an honor to meet you Sir."

Ed was shocked for a second, because by now most people knew he hated it when someone treated him like a higher ranking officer. He was just an alchemist, that's all.

"That's great. Don't ever do that shit to me again though ok? I hate being saluted. Don't treat me like I out rank you and we'll be good." Ed said with a bite of annoyance in his voice that the others knew was just due to his condition.

The man looked confused and Havoc gave a warm chuckle.

"Don't worry about that shit with the Chief. He doesn't care to play politics or any of that military crap that gets drilled into us. Just treat him like a normal person and you'll get along great Miller."

Miller stood back to normal as he went over to Ed.

"Sorry, it's a force of habit and someone like you deserves that level of respect. I'm Sargent Tyler Miller." Miller said as he held his hand out to Ed.

Ed took it with a small kind smile as he spoke. "Don't worry about it. It's been a long couple of months for me. Are you new here?" Ed asked trying to be polite even when all he wanted to do was go and sleep. He was trying to work on his social skills, especially because since being without Al his social interactions were limited to the few people he dealt with on missions and these guys.

"I've been here for two months now, since you went on your mission. I was transferred here to work on the General's squad. It's an honor and pleasure to be here." Miller said with a huge smile.

"It's been good to have you here Sargent." Mustang said back.

Miller went and stood closer to Ed as he spoke.

"Are you okay? You're looking pretty bruised. Have you seen a doctor yet? I can take you if you wish. You should get looked at." Miller said with worry as he took in Ed's injuries.

"I'm fine. It's just bruising and I have a rule about seeing doctors." Ed said a little overwhelmed with Miller's concern, but he figured that Miller was probably always like this.

"Ya like he doesn't go unless being dragged or is unconscious." Breda said with a smirk.

"As long as you are sure. It's great that you are back now I've been dying to meet you. You're the reason why I joined the military. All the good work you were doing made me want to be a better person. It truly is a great honor to meet you and be on the same team as you."

"Thanks. I'm sure we'll get along great." Ed said still uneasy about getting compliments like this.

"It's great timing for you, because we leave the day after tomorrow for that survival training. Now the team is complete." Miller said with an excited smile.

"The what now?" Ed asked confused.

"General Miller." Mustang started, but was cut off by Miller.

"My father as I'm sure you were about to ask. Everyone does." Miller said with a slight eye roll in good nature.

"Like you General or General, General?" Ed asked Mustang.

"The General. He approached the Fuhrer with the idea of having survival training for the teams within the military. The purpose is to take the team and place them somewhere in the warmer section of the North where they would spend two weeks roughing it. They will only be allowed to have a tent, bedroll and water canteen. That's all and those could be taken from you should you not pull your weight within the team. Everyone is monitored at a distant to make sure that each team member is doing their part and is not lazy or incompetent. You also can't use your alchemy. It's to help weed out the large number of military personnel that are happy to do nothing all day but receive their pay. Thirty-eight soldiers have already been fired and some of them have been higher ranking, one was even a Colonel." Mustang answered.

"And the Fuhrer is actually okay with this?" Ed asked as Grumman didn't seem like the type to care about any of that.

"He is. Grumman is a fair man, but he is also old fashioned and believes that men should work hard for their money and do their job. He expects a great deal from his soldiers. I can also see where he is coming from. After the Promise day a large number of military applications came through because we were no longer at war with anyone. It was an easy and well paid job. Most are given a warning and are being told they have to redo the training. We all have to leave at six in the morning the day after tomorrow and be out there for two weeks." Mustang said and Ed could hear he was not happy about it.

Ed just smiled before he spoke. "Well I wish you all luck and hopefully you guys are reading about how to feed yourselves and stay warm."

"It's actually great that you are here because now we will have you to help show us how to do that. You spent a month on a deserted island when you were eight as part of your training. We'll succeed for sure now that you get to join us." Miller said with a warm smile.

"Like fuck I am. I just did my survival training. Two months in the South with no tent, no bedroll and no water but the water I find. I've barely eaten anything in the past month. I'll give the General my mission report for his fucking survival training." Ed said and it was clear he was not happy that he might have to go anywhere within the next day.

"It's mandatory that every military personnel has to go through. You would have had to go with another team when you got back. But now you are here and the team is complete. The General is very strict on rules and regulations he won't just simply let you out of it. It's best to get it done and over with. Plus two weeks out camping is like a vacation for someone with your skills. You'll be able to teach us a great deal." Miller said.

"What the fuck? Why didn't you say anything?" Ed looked over at Mustang.

"I was going to tell you, but I planned on keeping your return a secret to allow you the two weeks to heal and relax from the past mission while we were gone. Afterwards I figured you would be gone on other missions or research and the General would have forgotten about you. I'm not exactly concerned about you being all alone out there with nothing but what you have on you." Mustang said.

"The General never forgets and he would have reprimanded you Brigadier General for withholding the information. I'm afraid it's too late now. Edward will just have to come with us. I'm sorry Edward, but it is mandatory." Miller said with a small shrug.

Ed looked over at Mustang to see if he would be able to get him out of it.

"I'm out ranked." Mustang said apologetically.

"It's only two more weeks." Fuery said with a small sympathetic smile.

"I just spent two months sleeping on the cold ground. And wet at times. I haven't even slept in five days. I just want to sleep in a bed for a week and not move. Not get up at the ass of dawn to go up north, during the rainy season mind you, for two weeks of more sleeping on the cold ground. Do you know how painful it is to have automail in the rain and the cold. Not to mention all of the bears and wild animals out there that could kill you in seconds. This sucks." Ed whinned.

"Did you just whine?" Miller asked.

"I'm exhausted and in pain. I get to whine for a minute." Ed grumbled.

"He's earned some whining rights." Havoc said with a friendly smile.

"Do any of you even know anything about being in the wilderness? How to put a tent up or start a fire with just sticks? Hunting, fishing, anything?" Ed asked.

"I know how to put up a tent and collect firewood. But I'm willing to learn." Havoc said.

"Ya I'm same." Breda said.

"I know nothing." Fuery said, but quickly continued, "But I have been reading some different books to help prepare me."

"I have done some reading on which vegetation is safe to consume." Falmen answered.

"I have been learning all the different and most efficient ways to kill bears during an attack with various objects." Hawkeye said.

"I learn fast." Mustang said with a shrug.

"But we have you to teach us. Also there is only four tents that go out to each team so we'll have to double up." Miller added.

"Great, just fucking great. Well if that is all the bad news you have for me today I'm gonna go get a dorm room booked and sleep the next twenty-four hours away." Ed grumbled and it was clear he was not in the mood for any company.

"I'll give you a ride. You must be so sore." Miller offered.

"No it's fine I'll take him. My paperwork is done for the day and there is a matter that we need to discuss." Mustang said and Ed was grateful for that, because he had no real reason to turn down a free ride. Especially in his condition. "I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow." Mustang said to the others as he grabbed his things.

"See you guys at the train station." Ed said and it was clear he would not be in tomorrow no matter what.

"Get some sleep Chief. You need it." Havoc said.

"See you in two days Big Guy." Breda said.

"See ya guys." Ed said with a wave as he walked out with Mustang, who had taken Ed's suitcase from him..

They stayed quiet the whole way out of the building and to Mustang's car. Ed did notice that Mustang walked slower to allow Ed to stay at a pace that wouldn't hurt his leg anymore than it already was. Once they were in the car and off of Government property Mustang spoke.

"Alright truth time Ed. How bad is the pain?" Mustang dropped any authority in his voice and kept his voice the normal gentle tone he had with Ed when they are not working.

"It's my back that's the worst. It hurts to breath deep again. The lighter automail helps, but most people don't get automail when they are eleven. It's been seven years now and two limbs are taking a toll. Might not be able to travel as much pretty soon. Or start going to massage parlors."

"Are your ribs broken?" Mustang asked as he was worried about Ed's breathing especially with having this stupid training in a day's time.

"Nothing's broken. I'm just bruised. It's been a rough two months that's all." Ed said as he leaned back and closed his eyes not bothering to keep the exhausted tone from his voice.

Mustang reached over and grabbed Ed's hand as he spoke. "When we get home I got some take out left over. You need to eat and then I'll help you shower, give you a massage and then you can sleep the next thirty-two hours away."

"Sounds good. I've missed you." Ed admitted.

"I've missed you too babe. I'm sorry you have to go on this training. I thought I would be able to keep it a secret. I didn't expect Miller to be all gung ho about you going. I could order him to stay quiet, but it's his father so I don't expect that to happen."

"You didn't pick him." Ed easily stated by the tone of Mustang's voice he could pick out what Mustang had yet to say.

"No I didn't. He's the only one I have not picked. I had all of my pieces I did not need another one. I already got an unexpected piece with you. You don't exactly fit within my mental chess board. Now I have Miller who has done well so far, but he has not been out of the office. I was not sure why he was placed on my team. I know his father did it and I knew it would have been at Miller's request. Today I got that answer though."

"Ya me. That's what I need a fanboy at the office. I got enough problems with other Colonels and Generals trying to steal me away from your team. I don't need a fanboy on the team."

"I don't know if he is a fanboy or not. He could easily just be honored to be on the same team as you. He always acts very happy and is easy going. He is open to suggestions and learning new things. I haven't had a problem with him. He acts that way all the time, it wasn't just for you. To him you are a hero and people will want to do better because of what you have inspired them to do. I had the same problem after the war. It fades though. Give Miller a chance as we are on the same team and we will be out in the wilderness for two weeks with each other."

"As long as he doesn't pull any of that military crap on me again we'll be just fine. And just for the record when I am not helping at the camp my ass will be sleeping."

"You are more than welcome to. I wasn't aware of having only four tents. That will be difficult."

"Fuery and Falman will be in one. Breda and Havoc are attached at the hip most of the time. That leaves you, me, Hawkeye and Miller. Process of elimination." Ed started and Mustang easily finished.

"Hawkeye will be with me and you get Miller. It's a shame Miller is not a girl because then we could have shared a tent." Mustang said with a smirk.

"That is a shame. We'll have to find some blind spots from the overwatch so we can have some alone time. It's been a very long time."

It had been the first time since they started this easy going relationship six months ago that they spent more than two weeks apart. They had been very active in the first four months they had been together. They would often sneak away somewhere within HQ to have a quickie or spend the whole weekend naked in bed together. Ed had a dorm that he rented, but he rarely was ever in it. He spent most of his free time either at the library when Mustang had to work or with Mustang at his house. This had been the first time they had been apart for two months and Ed had to admit there were plenty of times Ed wished Mustang had been with him.

"Tell me, have you touched yourself since we've last been together?" Mustang asked with a flirtatious smirk.

"No. Have you?" Ed asked back with as much of a smirk as he could handle at the moment.

"No. I've been saving it up for you. You know I can't resist watching it drip out of you." Mustang said back with heat in his eyes.

"Two months worth. That's the longest you've gone without cumming. I'm shocked, I thought for sure you would have jerked off while I was gone."

"I was very tempted to believe me. But it's not fun unless you are there anymore. You've ruined me."

"You poor man."

Mustang gave a chuckle. "What's your excuse?"

"I've never done it unless you were there watching. It feels weird otherwise."

"That's right I've corrupted you." Mustang said with a devilish smile.

"You're a bad, bad man." Ed said with a smirk as he turned his head to look at Mustang through partially open eyes.

"You love it." Mustang said confidently back.

"Very much so. Which is weird when you think about it."

"How so?"

"Would you have ever imagined that when you came to Resembool looking for some up and coming alchemist; that he would turn out to be an eleven year old that after seven years you would be in a sexual relationship with?" Ed said with a small chuckle.

"That is definitely not a thought that crossed my mind that first day I met you. Or really any day after that. And a little creepy to think that I knew you when you were an eleven year old brat." Mustang said with his own chuckle, but Ed knew that he wasn't bothered by it in the least. They had a good twelve year gap in their age, but neither of them cared to think much of it.

"It's all your fault really."

"How is it my fault?"

"Because before you I was never really interested in anything sexual. Then you kept opening your door half dressed or walking around in a towel. It's all your fault, you've corrupted me. You got me drunk and you corrupted me."

"You kissed me first for the record. I've always been with women so technically you corrupted me."

"Could of fooled me. You took my dick in your mouth like you were born to do it. I was copying you."

"I learn fast and so do you."

"Tell me the truth, did you read dirty novels to get those ideas." Ed asked with a playful smirk as he thought about all the things they had done during the first four months of their relationship.

"I may have done some research before that night."

"Oh really now? And why would you do that?"

"Because I was curious and wanted to be educated just in case something ever happened. You weren't the only one trying to battle with new found feelings."

"I know. Have you learned anything new you wanna try?" Ed asked as he was always willing to do anything that Mustang wanted, because it always felt good. He trusted Mustang with his life, with everything and Ed knew that Mustang felt the same way.

"I have something I want to try out. But you need rest first."

"Food and a shower too."

"Yes and then rest before you get stuck camping with the rest of us."

Ed gave a groan as Mustang pulled into the driveway of his house. "After this whole survival shit I might need a two week vacation to do nothing but lay in bed and read."

"I might be able to swing that for you. On one condition though, you spend those two weeks in my bed, naked and reading." Mustang said as he parked his car and turned to look at Ed.

"I think I could agree to that, but you'd have to agree to let me invade your library for books or bring me some from Central." Ed said with a smile.

"You got a deal." Mustang said as he leaned over and gave Ed a gentle kiss on the mouth before he pulled back and they got out of the car.

Ed was stiff and sore from just the small car ride to Mustang's. Mustang went over to Ed and placed a supportive arm around Ed's waist as they walked up to his front door. Once it was unlocked they headed inside and Mustang guided Ed into his kitchen and got Ed sitting down on a chair that he had.

"You need to eat before you shower, because I know once you do you won't want to get out of bed to eat."

Mustang went over and grabbed a glass and filled it with water before he placed it down on the island countertop in front of Ed as he spoke again. "You're also dehydrated. Drink all of that."

"Last time I drank anything before the train was rain water that I caught in a bowl I transmuted. That was a week ago. No rivers in the desert." Ed said as he picked up the glass and drank half of it in one go as Mustang went about warming up some food for them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think the mission would turn out this way. It was only supposed to be a month at most."

"It's not your fault a mass murderer showed up. Though, why did you send me on it anyways?"

"People still prefer to see your face than someone else's in a blue uniform. I thought it would be best to send you with the mission being so close to the border. Even other countries are a fan of you and the work you've done. It's why I send you on those type of missions. I know you enjoy the travel and it allows you to meet new people and learn new customs and cultures. I have to help feed your brain too, but I knew that the moment I met you."

"The curse of a prodigy. I need to start bringing an empty suitcase with me just so I can fill it up with new books." Ed said with a smirk.

"Did you get new books? Is that why your suitcase was heavier?" Mustang asked with a smile.

"I got five new books. Four I bought and one was given to me from an elder at the village along the Aerugo border. He wanted me to learn about their version of alchemy just in case one day I came across a rebel of theirs. He said that someone like me would appreciate their art and beliefs. I haven't gotten into it yet, but they believe in bio-alchemy and how it can help heal, but also be used as a weapon. They believe that alchemy comes from the Gods and those that are touched with it have been touched by a God. The more powerful you are the more the Gods have graced you, making you a God yourself." Ed said sounding more awake than Mustang had heard him since he arrived back from his mission.

Mustang couldn't help but smile as he placed the plates down on the counter and he sat down next to Ed. "I'm assuming you are going to read that one first?"

"Ya I think I will. But I do want to research the device as well. I'll need to break it down and see how it's made and go from there."

"I could send it off to the lab to have it analyzed."

"I know and I will after I take a better look at it."

"Always the cautious one. Make sure you put it back together when you are done so the lab techs have the original version of it. Also promise me you won't go off on something dangerous without letting me know."

"I promise I won't go starting any wars or discovering any more homuncului." Ed said with a smirk.

"That would be great if you could avoid any life altering situations that risk bringing down the Government." Mustang said with a friendly smile, because in the end if it hadn't been for Ed and Al, they might not even have a Country to call home.

"I don't know it turned out pretty great for you. Sure you lost your eyesight, but you made General and you can do what Al and I like to call, clap alchemy."

"That's true it does come in handy. Unfortunately, it won't help either of us during our two week camping trip."

"How bad do you think that's going to go? I mean Havoc is a country boy so he should be alright. Breda is smart he can adapt. Hawkeye is crazy scary, but Fuery and Falman are very much indoor kitties."

"It might not be that bad. Fuery and Falman are eager to learn. Miller might have some secret skills. I really don't think it'll be that bad. Annoying mostly. And now we'll have you and all of your amazing skills out in the wilderness to get us through."

"So I get to take care of all of you for two weeks. Great."

"You teach and we will help out. Don't worry it'll be fine."

"So what else has been going on since I left?"

"Not much honestly. We've been doing paperwork mostly. It is a time of peace after all."

"Only you would complain about a time of peace." Ed said with a smile and a small shake of his head.

"How was the first part of your mission? Any autographs from adoring fans?" Mustang asked as Ed has had a few problems since the Promise Day with people wanting to meet with him and get his autograph. Ed very much so became very well-known since the day he took on the Father in front of basically all of Central. At first Ed had been very annoyed with it, but now after two years Ed had slowly become used to it.

"Twenty-five of them. It wasn't too bad. Most people just wanted to talk and ask me alchemy questions. It's mostly beginners that are looking for some tips."

"You should write a book about it. I bet there would be a great deal of alchemists that would love to hear how you study or learnt."

"Maybe. Al's mentioned it to me before, but I'm a little apprehensive to do that. I don't mind helping other alchemists, especially beginners. I'm concerned that if the wrong type of people get the information they could use it for bad or try and figure out how to disrupt my alchemy. Al says I'm paranoid."

"You might be, but you also have a valid point. You have to look at situations differently compared to Al. The choice is always yours. How is Al doing?" Mustang asked as he put their empty plates into the sink.

"He's doing really good. He's back in Xing with Hoppy and Piggy."

Mustang shook his head as he spoke. "You really need to remember their names."

"I'm not good with names and social situations you know that. He's having a really good time or he was the last time I talked to him a month ago. I'll have to call him before I leave I told him I was chasing down a criminal for a new mission that I would call when I was done. I don't want him to worry."

"You should call him before two weeks in the woods. And Winry and Pinako?"

"They are doing good. Pinako is going to retire soon. She's getting too old and tired for all of the stress and work of automail. Winry is going to take over the business and last I heard she was entertaining the idea of moving out to Rush Valley to open shop there. She was very popular down there a couple years ago and she still goes to help her customers. Pinako will keep the house and probably move eventually down South where the rest of her friends ended up. There's a retirement community down in South City. Winry said she has been talking about it and looking into it."

"That will be good for Pinako. The warm weather is good for an elder's health. It will be hard on them though I would image to be in different locations and far apart like that."

"It'll be different and hard on them, but Winry will visit and Al and me will too. It was bound to happen eventually and Pinako knows that. She doesn't want us to settle for less of a life or to put a cap on our dreams. All part of getting older right?" Ed said with a small smirk.

"It is. It can be hard to see your family all moving away and going in different directions. I know it's been hard on you to have Al out there after being close for so many years."

"It was hard at first, but you know that. There are still days or missions where I miss him. Miss the comfort of backup in a fight, even if I can handle it."

"I have to say I felt better when you were out on missions with Al. I know you can handle yourself in a fight. You've proven that on numerous occasions. Still, people get lucky. This last mission, you could have really used another fighter there. Why don't you think about having a partner. Someone in the military that you can trust, another alchemist even that isn't a State but has potential."

"How would that work if I find someone that isn't in the military? You always let Al come along because you knew I wouldn't leave him behind unless given no other choice."

"I didn't have a problem with Al going with you because I didn't want to send a twelve year old out into the world on his own. If you found someone that you thought you could trust and that wouldn't slow you down or put you in harm's way. I would be able to sign that person on as a civilian consultant. If that person is an alchemist, which knowing you he or she would be, then we can discuss that person becoming a State Alchemist should they be interested. If you found someone then let me know."

"I'll think about it. Care to lend a hand in the shower?"

"Always, but you are only getting help in the shower. Your body is too exhausted and in pain for anything else. We have time for that after you sleep a good twenty hours."

"No arguments from me this time. I'm too tired to actually enjoy it."

Mustang got up and helped Ed to stand. They headed up the stairs to Mustang's on-suite bathroom. Ed had to admit he did love this bathroom. It had a tub large enough for five people and the shower stall was very roomy and had twenty jets along the three shower walls. They had spent a lot of time in this shower over the past six months. Once in the bathroom Mustang and Ed started to remove their clothing. With Ed's shirt off Mustang was able to for the first time see all of Ed's injuries. His torso was covered in bruising and he had a few small cuts on him as well. The bruising was dark and very much fresh. Mustang knew it would be painful for him and no doubt causing him pain.

Mustang went over to Ed and gently ran his fingers over Ed's torso. Ed knew that this was the first time that Mustang was seeing him with any injuries. Normally when Ed fought and got injured Mustang had only heard about it. This time was different for them. This time they were sleeping together and Mustang was finally seeing how dangerous some missions were to Ed.

"I'm fine. It's just bruising." Ed said trying to provide a little comfort to Mustang at the clear upset look on his face.

"I know you are. And I know you can handle yourself in a fight. It's the what if that concerns me. I'd feel a lot better if I knew that someone was there with you to have your back. I always go with Hawkeye or Havoc. I think with all of the notoriety that you've had since the Promise Day it would be good for you to have backup. People recognize you, you've gotten some fan mail. We need to have a serious conversation about this later when you are rested."

"Ok." Ed easily agreed, but Mustang knew it wouldn't be that easy of a conversation.

They both finished getting undressed and got into the hot shower. The water felt amazing against Ed's sore muscles and he found himself closing his eyes and allowing the water to wash over him. Mustang began to run his hands through Ed's hair to get it wet. Ed opened his eyes as Mustang started to wash his hair.

"It's gotten long." Mustang said.

"I know. I need to cut it. It's gotten annoying."

Mustang proceeded to wash Ed's hair and Ed had no problem allowing him to. Ed was enjoying this treatment and in all honesty he was beyond exhausted to do it himself. After Mustang had washed Ed's hair he proceeded to very carefully and gently to wash his body. Once Ed was taken care of he helped Mustang wash his own body and hair. Once they were both clean Mustang turned Ed so his back was against Mustang's chest. Mustang wrapped his arms around Ed and Ed placed his head against Mustang's chest and closed his eyes just allowing himself to feel the safety that Ed's mind always associated with Mustang. Ed always had to be the tough one since his mother had died. He had to take care of Al and make sure he was fed, clothed, had a roof over his head. It was a lot on him to handle. Then after the failed transmutation he had to be the tough one all over again. He refused to cry about losing two limbs because Al couldn't cry anymore. Al couldn't feel pain so Ed wouldn't complain about it. Ed always had to be the tough and strong one, but around Mustang Ed found that he could lower his walls now. That he didn't always have to be the strong one. Mustang could be that man when Ed just couldn't be. It was that feeling of protection and safety that brought the tears to Ed's eyes.

Mustang instantly tightened his hold on Ed as if he already knew what was going through Ed's mind.

"It's just us babe."

"I couldn't sleep on the train. I kept seeing their faces. That little boy's face." Ed said with a hitch to his voice.

"I'm sorry Ed. I never wanted you to ever see something like that. I never wanted you to feel this pain. I wish I could tell you that it will get better and you'll forget about it, but that would be a lie. And it wouldn't be fair to you. What I can tell you is that you can't bury this or keep it all to yourself. You need to talk about it and eventually it will become easier to live with. You're not alone though babe. I'm here for you and so is everyone at work. If you need to scream, scream. If you need to cry, cry, Just let it out Ed or it will destroy you."

"I killed him. He was a mass murderer. He killed children like they were nothing. Why do I feel so bad? I didn't even mean to. It just happened so fast and before I knew it there was blood everywhere." Ed said as the tears started to fall.

"It's not your fault. He was trying to kill you. He would have if you hadn't reacted. Your body reacted the way you have always been trained to. You did the right thing, even if it doesn't feel like it right now. You did the right thing." Mustang said trying to offer what little comfort he could to Ed.

There truly was nothing Mustang could say to Ed that would make any of this better on him. All he could do was hold Ed and allow him to get it out. Mustang knew that Ed was used to being the strong one, but right now he needed to be able to just be himself and not have to worry about always being tough. Ed didn't say anything to that as he just let the tears fall in the comfort of Mustang's arms. Mustang turned Ed around so they were chest to chest and ran a soothing hand up and down his back. It was a good twenty minutes before Ed's tears had calmed down and he pulled back. He went to wipe the remaining tears away, but Mustang beat him to it.

"Sorry." Ed started but Mustang cut him off.

"Don't be stupid. We have no walls. We promised we wouldn't. You have every right and reason to be upset and hurt right now. I know exactly how you are feeling. I always wished you would never have to feel this way. I'm sorry I couldn't prevent this."

"It's not your fault. You didn't send me on that mission. The one you sent me on was safe. This was just bad luck and timing. I'll be fine. I'm just tired."

"Let's get you in bed. I'll give you a massage to help your back."

Ed just gave a nod and Mustang turned the water off. They both got out and dried off before they went into the bedroom. After getting on a clean pair of boxers Mustang had Ed lay on his stomach as Mustang straddled the back of Ed's hips. Mustang began to massage Ed's back as he spoke.

"Can you tell me about growing up after your mother passed?"

"Why the interest?"

"You've never talked about it. I was just wondering what happened between that gap. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious."

"There's not really much to tell. I was seven and the night we buried her I decided to bring her back. Hohenheim didn't even show up for the funeral. It was just us."

"You lived with the Rockbells?"

"No. We still lived at the house. Al went to school a couple of days after and I went to work."

"Work? Why? You were seven. You should have been in school."

"I was until Mom got sick. I stayed home to take care of her. Then after she died the funeral took up all the money she had saved up. I had to pay the bills and make sure we had food. So I sent Al to school and went into town to work."

"What about your father? He didn't send money?"

"Nope. No money, no letter, no phone calls. It was all on me."

"Where did you work?" Mustang asked doing his best to keep the anger and hurt from his voice.

"Odd jobs. Dishwasher at a restaurant. Pulling weeds. Fixing what I could with alchemy. I'd work all day and then go home and make Al something for dinner. We didn't always have money for food so I would transmute grass into bread. Sometimes we went without running water or electricity so I could get some real food. We also had dinner a couple nights a week at Winry's. I just made it work for two years and then we met teacher and lived with her for two years. The rest you know."

"I never even thought that you would have to be the one to take care of Al. I thought the Rockbells took you both in. Why didn't they?"

"Winry's parents had been sent off to war and Pinako had Winry dropped on her. After Mom had died Pinako wanted us to move in, but Winry's parents were dead and she was having problems with her health. We didn't want to put any more stress on her. Al also had a hard time leaving the house. He wanted to be there to be close to Mom and in case Hohenheim would come back. He would light a candle and put it in the window so he could find where we are. He used to do it even after he lost his body. He always believed he would come home."

"Did you ever work things out with him? I know he sacrificed his Philosopher's Stone to give Al his body back. You gave up your arm again to anchor his soul permanently to his body, which you have yet to explain why to me. But you were with him for a little while. Did you ever make peace with him?"

"No and I never will. Al will always hold a candle to him. He will always call him his father and he will always believe him to be a martyr for giving up what little life he had left. He left and even if he wanted to try and justify his leaving, he still left. He could have taken us with him to go around and leave stones. He could have come back after Mom died to look after us. He could have told us the truth from the start or when he found out we were with the military. He knew that there were homunculi and what Father was planning to do to this country. So many lives could have been saved if he had just opened his mouth a long time ago. I can't forgive him for that. Despite what Al says, my hating him has nothing to do with his leaving and everything to do with the repercussions of his decisions."

"I can completely understand where you are coming from. He could have saved thousands of lives if he had said something a long time ago. You and Al both deserved the truth from the start and he should have been there when he discovered that your mom was dead. There's no excuse he could give that would justify his actions or reasonings. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't harbouring any anger over him. It wouldn't be good for you."

"No I made my peace with it."

"I'm assuming you and Al don't talk about him."

"No it's one of those conversations we don't have. We don't have many off topic, topics, but he is definitely one of them. Along with what I would have done otherwise to get him back."

"What do you mean?" Mustang asked with a slight concern tone to his voice as they had never had this conversation before. Mustang truly didn't know what Ed would have done to get his brother back.

"He asked what I would have done had Hohenheim didn't use his life force to bring him back. I told him I would have given up my alchemy for him. I figured out the answer just before Hohenheim activated the circle. At that point it was too late and all I could do was try and keep the transmutation from rebounding. He was pissed that I would have given up my alchemy for his life. I told him it wouldn't have been a hard decision to make and if I had figured it out years ago I would have done it then."

"Why would he be mad about that? You're alchemy is powerful, but you would have persevered without it."

"He said by giving up my alchemy in exchange for his life I would be jeopardizing the lives of the people of this country that needed me. I told him he was insane because I could still help people and he would be around and he had alchemy. It wasn't much of a trade when it was his life on the line. Besides, the Truth would have been very happy for me to not have alchemy."

"I'd still like to know more about this Truth character. I don't remember him much. I only saw him for a second before everything went black. I agree though with you. Al's life is worth more than your alchemy. Why did you have to anchor his soul? Wouldn't it have been connected to his body?"

"In theory yes, but I did a lot of research on it for when I would bring Al's body back. I still would have had to do a soul transmutation on them to ensure that Al's soul would remain within his body. Otherwise his soul could have continued to leave his body at any random moment. Al may have been able to control it with time and he could have transmuted part of his soul to inanimate objects, but it was too much of a risk. I needed to make sure that his soul would remain in his body no matter what."

"That makes sense. I never thought about how you would do it. I just assumed his body and soul would become one again."

"There's a lot that goes into it. It's done now though and Al is back to normal and living a happy life. It's all I ever wanted for him."

"Are you happy? I love being in the military and I wouldn't want another career. Same goes for everyone on the team. But what about you? Are you happy doing this?" It was a major concern that Mustang had for Ed. He didn't want Ed to stay because of a contract or because he felt obligated to stay.

"As much as a troubled soul can be." Ed half joked.

"I'm serious. Is there something different out there that you would rather be doing? Teaching? Going to University?"

"Anything I learn in school I can teach it to myself should the desire be there. As for teaching, I don't know. I don't have much interest in that. That was always Al's interest. I like helping people. I like learning new cultures and customs. I like the travel in moderate dosage. It's just been different since Al's been back. When we got separated before the Promise Day I was traveling with Greed and the other two so I wasn't alone. I'm not really social, but I'm not good at alone either. And in this line of work it's not easy to trust someone and know that they have your back no matter what. That takes time and a lot of patience to go with it. Being out there alone all the time though sucks."

"All the more reason to have a partner with you. You need some kind of excitement in your life again. Something that make that spark in your eyes light back up. You're losing it and that will be very dangerous for you. A spark makes all the difference."

"I know, I'll think about it. I just need some time off, it'll be good for me to get a break and just rest for a little bit. Let my mind reset. After this training crap I'll think about it and see, but I can't imagine having a partner is going to make me excited. There's no one in the military that I could think of that I'd want to travel around with or trust to have my back. Well aside from the team and even then I think I'd only be able to handle Havoc for long periods of time."

"You both get along very well. You're like a kid brother to him. Would that be an option for you? If he went with you?"

"You'd give up your knight?" Ed asked slightly shocked that Mustang would even consider letting one of his team members go out on missions.

"Havoc has a great deal of field experience, you both get along. He knows you well enough to know when you need help or not. I'd be willing to let Havoc be out in the field more. Especially if it would keep you safer. Havoc would be willing to go for it. You got at least a month to figure it out. Just think about it."

"Ya ok."

Ed closed his eyes as his body was finally becoming less tense. The pain in his back wasn't completely gone, but it was a lot better. Mustang could feel Ed's body loosening up and he was pleased that this was helping Ed. After a minute Mustang stopped and got Ed under the covers before he was completely asleep. Ed curled up against Mustang's chest and Mustang put his arms around Ed.

"Thank-you." Ed said softly.

"Anytime. Goodnight." Mustang said softly back.

"Night." Ed said barely awake.

Even though it wasn't dark out Mustang had no problem lying in bed holding onto Ed while he got the sleep he desperately needed.

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It was nine in the morning when Mustang walked into his office. His team was already there getting the day started on the new pile of paperwork that never seemed to end anymore. How they could have so much paperwork during a time of peace Mustang would never know. All he did know was that it got bigger since becoming a General.

"Morning General." Hawkeye said.

"Good morning. How are you?" Mustang asked as he went over to his desk.

"I'm well Sir. How is Edward?" Hawkeye asked as they were all wondering the same thing.

"What makes you think I would know?" Mustang immediately asked.

"No offense Sir, but I know you well enough to know that after the last mission Edward went on that you wouldn't just leave him alone in the dorms. You do have a guest bedroom after all." Hawkeye easily responded.

"You took him to your house? Isn't that unethical with your ranking being so high Sir?" Miller asked.

"He isn't the first member of this team to crash at my place. And he was sleeping when I left."

"Best thing for him. Did you get him to drink some water and eat something?" Havoc asked.

"Before he showered. If he is still there when I get home, which I would be shocked if he wasn't still asleep, I'll get him to do it again."

"How did he seem?" Fuery asked.

"Upset rightly so. He'll recover from this with time. His injuries are just bruising and nothing is broken."

"He got really lucky this time around." Havoc said.

"Edward is a very talented alchemist. He can handle himself in any situation that presents itself. As he just proved." Miller said.

"Ya, but just because he could handle it, doesn't mean he should and he shouldn't have to do it alone." Havoc argued back.

"Something on your mind Havoc?" Mustang asked with sharp eyes.

"Ya actually there is. I'd like to propose that you allow me to partner with Ed on his missions. Even just temporary until a better fit comes along Sir."

"Seriously?" Breda asked shocked, because Havoc wasn't one to shy away from action, but he enjoyed being local and not traveling all the time.

"You're damn right I am. What if that shard of metal wasn't lying there beside him? He would have been killed and we wouldn't have even known about it until someone found his body. That fight could have easily been prevented if Ed had someone else there with him. Someone that could fight, but also shoot. He refuses to carry a gun and even if he did have one, he wouldn't use it. He's getting more and more popular and with that comes crazy fans, but also enemies. He needs someone to watch his back and his mind. He shouldn't have had to go through what he just did on his own. Someone should have been there with him to help him through it." Havoc said with determination in his voice.

"He signed up for this life. He knew the risks. The first kill is always the hardest, but Edward will adapt to it and be ready next time because of it." Miller said.

"You don't get it. You don't get Edward Elric. He doesn't kill. He goes out of his way and puts himself in greater danger to avoid killing someone. Or someone killing someone else. Some people are able to handle the killing, but the Chief isn't one of them. And he shouldn't have to be. Just because he signed on the dotted line, doesn't mean he should have to be destroyed for the Country. He's sacrificed enough for this Country the least we can do as his comrades is make sure his ass is safe out there. Make sure he doesn't have to wash blood off his hands again. We owe him that much." Havoc argued back.

"I think you're thinking about this situation too much. Edward is truly talented and he knows how to process difficult experiences. He'll be fine in a day or two and back out there when this training is over. He'll take this close call and learn from it, it's what he does. But General, if you are considering this I would love the opportunity to travel with Edward and learn from him. He has a great deal of knowledge that he could teach within the field. And we are closer in age and would have more in common." Miller said.

Mustang looked between the two of them and it wasn't even a contest. There was no way he was going to put Ed with Miller. Especially with how Miller seems to hero worship Ed at the moment. Mustang was hoping that would fade with time, because the last thing he wanted was to cause a problem with the top ranking General. Mustang turned his attention to Havoc as he spoke.

"You would have to travel. You hate traveling. It messes up your relationships."

"Ya I hate to travel. But I hate the idea of Ed being out there bleeding to death all alone in some side alley because no one was watching his back. I'm not saying it's a match made in heaven, but it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative Boss. He needs someone with him."

"I spoke to Fullmetal briefly last night about the possibility of him working with a partner. I told him he could pick anyone, even someone that wasn't within the military if they peaked his interests. He said he would consider it. After the training is complete he has requested a two week vacation to recuperate and I have granted him that. After a month if you are still certain you wish to do this Havoc and if Fullmetal agrees then I will pair you both up until the situation changes." Mustang said.

"So you think it's too dangerous for Ed now?" Fuery asked calmly and Mustang knew it was out of concern and not an accusation.

"I think Havoc makes all valid points, ones that I've already considered. His enemies will increase every month. He already receives fan letters and asked for autographs. It's not a far leap to assume that one day he will develop stalkers. He needs someone in the field to not only watch his back, but to keep him from being alone all the time it's not good for him. When he's back on duty we will discuss this again."

"Sure thing Boss." Havoc easily agreed.

"Don't you think Edward might like to be with someone closer to his age and have more in common Sir?" Miller asked.

"Havoc and Fullmetal have a history together. They're like brothers. Apart from that I already mentioned the possibility of Havoc working as his partner and Fullmetal had no arguments against it." Mustang answered.

"Do you think Ed will go for it?" Breda asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't think he's sure himself right now what he wants to do." Mustang answered.

"Meaning?" Havoc asked.

"He's spent the majority of his life taking care of Al. Then it was about getting Al's body back and finding the stone. He's been losing that spark in his eyes ever since he's returned from his two month break. Without that spark he's not Fullmetal and it's only a matter of time before he's hurt severely or killed."

"He needs something to be excited about. As tiring and hard as the search for the stone was, it was his purpose. It made his mind focus on something, a puzzle to solve. He doesn't have that now and for someone like Edward his mind needs something to work through. He needs a difficult and complicated puzzle to solve piece by piece." Hawkeye said.

"He does. He has this device that he wants to figure out, but it realistically won't take him long. He doesn't want to teach because he's too paranoid that he could train someone only for them to turn on the country. Or the person could actually be an enemy. I'd like for him to take on an apprentice. It would be good for him to have someone travelling with him that he could train and help grow. He's not good at alone and it's doing nothing for his lack of social skills. He needs something to be excited about, but he doesn't know what that could be currently." Mustang said.

"He needs to find something. He'll go crazy if he doesn't keep his mind stimulated." Fuery said.

"He'll figure it out. The Chief never stays down for long." Havoc said confidently.

That was something they all could easily agree upon. With the end of the conversation they all went back to their own paperwork and began to get them done before the end of the day.

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Mustang walked through his front door. He instantly went into the bedroom and noticed that Ed was still sound asleep only on his back now with the blanket pulled down passed his hips. Mustang gave a smirk and went about removing his uniform until he was naked. Mustang knew that Ed had been asleep the whole day and he would need to wake him up so he could get some food and water into him before letting him go back to sleep. Mustang also wanted to make sure that Ed's arm and leg were getting better as well. Mustang had a rather fun idea to wake Ed up though, because anyone could just gentle nudge someone awake. Mustang went over to the bed and he snaked his hand into the open gap for a fly on the boxers. Ed didn't even stir.

Mustang pulled out Ed's flaccid cock and bent down to run his tongue along it before taking it into his mouth. Ed stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. Mustang could feel Ed getting hard in his mouth and it allowed Mustang to start sucking gently. Ed let out a moan as he started to wake up and Mustang started to deep throat Ed's fully hard cock. Ed let out a loud moan as he opened his eyes and saw Mustang between his legs with his mouth around his cock.

"Roy." Ed said with a deep moan.

It had been two months since they had done anything. When Ed was younger two months would have felt like two hours, but after the past six months, two months felt like two years. Mustang continued to take Ed deep and fast in his mouth. He knew that Ed wouldn't last long and that was fine by him. Mustang wanted to drink every drop that Ed had saved up for him for these past two months. Ed continued to moan and whither under Mustang's mouth.

"Fuck don't stop. So close, fuck so good." Ed moaned.

Mustang only sucked harder and he could feel Ed's cock getting harder and harder. After a few more sucks and Ed gave a loud moan as he called Roy's name out. Mustang moaned as Ed's seed filled his mouth. Mustang easily swallowed the large load and he didn't stop until he swallowed every last drop. Mustang then moved up and Ed pulled him into a heated kiss. Mustang tongue invaded Ed's mouth and Ed moaned at his own taste. Ed moved his hands to Mustang's hips and pushed him closer so their cocks rubbed against each other. They both moaned at the contact.

"Fuck me Roy. I need to feel you deep inside me." Ed said against Mustang's mouth. Mustang moaned and he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the bottle of lube from the drawer. He covered three of his fingers with it before he went back to kissing Ed while he inserted his index finger. Ed moaned as Mustang very gently inserted his finger.

"So tights. No matter how many times I've fucked you you stay nice and tight." Mustang said against Ed's lips as he inserted a second finger.

"Oh fuck Roy." Ed moaned and Mustang moved down to start kissing Ed's neck as he scissored Ed to get him loose enough that he would be able to fuck him without hurting him.

When Ed was ready Mustang inserted his third and final finger and started to look for that sweet spot that would make Ed scream out. Mustang had great practice and it only took a moment before he rubbed his finger against it and Ed arched his back and let out a loud curse.

"Roy please. Now." Ed pleaded.

"I want you on your knees with this sweet ass of yours in the air for me." Mustang said as he removed his fingers and Ed easily moved so he was on his hands and knees with his chest against the bed.

Mustang lined himself up with Ed's entrance and slowly pushed himself in. Ed moaned and placed his head down on the pillow. Once Mustang was all the way inside of Ed he let out a moan.

"Fucking perfect. So tight." Mustang said.

"Move. I'm fine move." Ed moaned as he pushed back.

Mustang didn't need to be told twice. He pulled out and slammed back in.

"Fuck. It's gonna be hard and rough. It's been too long." Mustang said as he couldn't control himself.

"Fuck me deep baby. Fill me up." Ed moaned as he pushed back against Mustang's thrusts.

Mustang gave a deep moan as he started to really pound into Ed's tight ass. Ed matched Mustang's thrusts to ensure that Mustang's cock was buried deep inside of him. It didn't take long before Mustang was on the edge. Mustang snaked a hand around Ed's hard cock once again and began to jerk him off in rhythm with his thrusts.

"Oh fuck. I'm gonna cum. Don't stop" Ed moaned and Mustang went even faster.

He could feel Ed's internal walls tightening around him as Ed cam hard once again, pushing Mustang over the edge. Mustang pushed himself deep inside of Ed as he cam long and hard. Mustang gave himself a second to catch his breath and for his cock to stop pulsing before he pulled out of Ed. He put his hands on Ed's cheeks to spread them wide so he could watch as his cum slowly started to leak out of Ed's fluttering hole. This wasn't the first time they had done this, but Mustang wanted to do something different this time. Mustang didn't bother to explain anything to Ed. They both knew that all they had to do was say stop and the other would.

Mustang went and licked at his cum dripping down Ed's ass. Ed didn't expect it and he couldn't help the moan at the new sensation. Mustang used it to continue on and went to lick and suck on Ed's hole, getting his cum in his mouth.

"Oh fuck!"

"You like that baby?" Mustang asked with a smirk.

"So fucking good." Ed moaned and it made Mustang's cock come back to life.

Mustang stopped what he was doing long enough to move Ed so Mustang was lying down with Ed sitting on his face. Ed moaned before he bent over and took Mustang's half hard cock in his mouth. Mustang moaned deep as he inserted his index finger to get more of the cum out.

"Touch yourself." Mustang ordered and Ed easily submitted as he sucked Mustang's cock even faster.

They were both still very turned on from not having the other for two months. It didn't take much before Mustang thrusted into Ed's mouth and cam deep. Ed quickly followed as he swallowed what Mustang had to offer him. Afterwards Ed moved and ran his tongue up Mustang's chest licking up his own cum while keeping his eyes on Mustang. Mustang pulled Ed up and into a heated kiss before he allowed his passion to simmer and turn the kiss gentle. He didn't want to hurt or over excert Ed when his body was still recovering from his last mission. Mustang gently placed his hand against Ed's cheek as they kissed and Mustang rolled them so that Ed was on his back and Mustang was propped up by his elbow above him off to the side. After a moment Mustang pulled back and gave Ed a warm smile.

"How ya feeling?" Mustang asked as he took in Ed's look.

The bruising was even darker now and Ed still had a great deal of exhaustion in his eyes. Once the high of their sexual encounter wore off he would be feeling that exhaustion.

"Good right now. That'll probably change when I stand up." Ed said with a chuckle.

"It definitely will. You need food and water in you and then more sleep. You get comfortable again I'll bring us something to eat." Mustang said as he got up off the bed

"Dinner in bed? I'm a lucky man." Ed said with a smirk.

"Damn right you are. Let me see your leg first though." Mustang said with concern as he had forgotten all about Ed's sore leg while he was lost in desire.

Ed went over to the pillows and laid down on his back. He hadn't even had the chance to check out his own injuries since he went to sleep yesterday. Ed could see that his thigh where it joined metal was red and swollen still. He would need to get the swelling down if he was going to stand a chance at being any help on this survival training.

Mustang gently touched Ed's thigh as he spoke. "You need some ice on this to reduce the swelling then later a heating pad to help with any pain. I'll bring you one. How about your arm?"

"My arm and back are good. At least right now. The massage and sleep really helped. My leg is just irritated from all the travel and rough terrain."

"Let's get that swelling down and hopefully tomorrow you'll be alright. We won't have to walk much tomorrow. On the train ride you should have it up and resting more then as well."

"I will. Don't worry so much." Ed said trying to reassure Mustang.

"Not going to happen until you are under lock and key in my home. I'll go see what I can make us for dinner. You rest."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Ed said with a smile.

Mustang got his boxers on before he headed out of the bedroom to go to his kitchen. Ed grabbed his discarded boxers as well and headed into the bathroom to take care of business before he went over to his suitcase and grabbed the device from it and then went back over to the bed. Ed moved the pillows up so he would be able to lean against them. Ed started to study the device in his hand and took notice of every part that made the device. He would need to take it apart, but this was the first time he truly had the chance to look at it. Ed's mind got away from him as he questioned how it was made, how it worked, how long it would work for, what the distance of it's range was. So many unknown answers about a device that fit within the palm of his hand. Ed didn't even notice Mustang walking into the bedroom with a tray of food and a cold compress. Mustang couldn't help, but smirk at the sight of Ed once again lost in his own mind. Mustang often wondered just what Ed saw when he looked at something. What did his mind pick up that the majority of the world didn't? It was a very interesting trait of Ed and one that truly made Ed, Ed.

Mustang went over and took the device gently from Ed's hands as he knew that was the only way to snap Ed out of his hyper focus that his mind always went into. Ed's eyes snapped up with confusion in them causing Mustang to smirk. Ed gave a shy smile as he spoke.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's part of who you are and I wouldn't change anything about you." Mustang said as he placed the food down and placed the cold compress around Ed's knee.

"Nothing eh? Not even my lack of subordination or the ability to not be an asshole in a large crowd?" Ed asked with a smirk.

"Crowds are overrated and it wouldn't be any fun if you did everything I said for you to do. I have to punish you somehow after all and I wouldn't be able to do that if you always listened to me." Mustang said as he went and sat down on the other side of the bed.

Ed and Mustang grabbed a plate and started to eat.

"Are you going to bring that with you?" Mustang asked with a nod of his head to the device.

"No I'm going to lock it away here. I don't want to risk something happening to it. How are they going to block our alchemy anyways?"

"A bracelet to make it so we can't use it. But if our lives are in danger we can remove the bracelet by cutting it off. We shouldn't have the need to though. Eight other teams have already gone and haven't had any problems with enemies or wildlife outside of some scary moments with bears."

"Good. Now all we have to worry about is the rain. Maybe it won't storm every single day."

"I hope not for your sake. I know the rain can be very painful for you." Mustang said with concern in his voice for what Ed could be going through.

"I'll manage, I always do." Ed said dismissively.

"I know you do. Havoc spoke to me today. He wanted to ask me about going out on missions with you."

"He just brought that up all by himself?" Ed asked clearly skeptical.

"Barely sat down in my chair before he brought it up. Seems like I'm not the only one worried about you being out there on your own. He said that if you had someone with you then you wouldn't have had to go through all of this alone. That you wouldn't have had to fight him alone and maybe someone else could have killed him so you wouldn't have to."

"Havoc isn't one for travelling though."

"No he's not, but he hates the idea of you being back out there alone. Miller also offered, but I very subtly declined that offer. It's still up to you, but I'd like for Havoc to be with you even temporarily."

"Is that an order?"

"It's a strongly advised recommendation."

"I don't even know if I am going to be going back to missions. I don't know what I'm going to do." Ed said sounding lost.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you ever feel like you're stuck in this cycle? I'm still in the military, even though I said I would only be in the military until Al got his body back. Yet three years later I'm still here. Even if I left I don't know what I would even do. I don't know if I'm in the military because I want to be in the military or if I'm still here because I have no idea where else I would even go. You're right there's no excitement anymore. There's nothing that really makes me passionate about. I don't know what to do."

"The good news is you're young enough you have the time to figure it out. We'll figure it out. I'm not going to force you to stay in the military Ed. I want you happy and I want you to be passionate about what you are doing and excited about it. We gotta get the fire back in your eyes. You got the next month to think some things over. Take a break and see what interest you. There's something out there that will get you excited about babe. You'll find it." Mustang said with confidence.

"Maybe this is why child prodigies grow up to be unaccomplished. They accomplish so much in the first years of their life that eventually they lose interest in the world."

"That won't happen to you. I know you feel like you're at a crossroads right now. I know you're mind isn't being stimulated enough. But you are still very much active in the world. You still love reading any book there is in the world. You still want to help people and make the world a safer place. You're still very much the child prodigy you've always been. You just need to navigate through becoming an adult prodigy. We'll figure it out together babe. Take the time to think about it and see what you come up with."

"Ya. Maybe some time off will help me figure things out. Like you said I got a month to think it all over."

"We will figure this out. No matter what it is. Don't stress over it. We all think about it. After the war I thought about leaving. Hell I thought about killing myself."

"You've never told me that." Ed said slightly shocked.

"I thought about human transmutation as well. We were all war heroes, but only because we won. We committed genocide that day and even though the past three years we've tried to make it better, it doesn't change what we did that day. The day we returned Maes went over to Gracia and smiled at her like he had been on some vacation the whole time. He could still smile and laugh like what we did was nothing. He pushed it down, because he said she didn't deserve anything less. We got off that train and I didn't have anyone standing there waiting for me. Parents were long dead, no girlfriend, siblings, no one. I knew that before I left, but I never expected how much it would hurt to return all alone. I was barely sleeping, barely eating. One day Maes came by and found out what I was doing. He punched me and set me straight."

"You were really going to try it? You gave me so much shit that day though."

"Because I knew just how dangerous it was. It was a miracle you even survived. I knew just how dangerous what you boys did. I couldn't risk you trying again."

"I deserved the lecture. I don't think anyone was going to give it to me. I didn't know what to do, but you gave me hope for a better future. I looked up to you for that. Respected you for it. Even if I didn't show it."

"I respected and admired you. You made me want to be a better man. You still do." Mustang said with a warm smile.

Ed leaned over and gave Mustang a kiss before he pulled back and spoke.

"So do you."

They went back to eating and Ed spoke.

"Did Miller really offer to be my partner?"

"He did. His reasoning was that he is closer to your age and therefore you would have more in common."

"But I've known Havoc since I was twelve. We know how the other thinks and moves. How would Miller, a stranger, be the better option?"

"It's not. Miller is just excited about working with you. It'll pass. Believe me, two weeks in the woods with you should remove all of his excitement and fascination with you." Mustang said with a chuckle.

"I'll remember you said that when you are starving and begging me to go hunting for you." Ed said with a smirk.

"Can you really hunt?"

"When Al and I first met our Teacher, she refused to take us on. We had to prove that we could survive on a deserted island for a month with no alchemy. At the end of the month we had to answer what, one is all, all is one, meant. Simple right? A nine and eight year old on this island, how hard could it be? At least we thought so." Ed gave a chuckle before he continued. "We knew the basics, shelter, fire, food, water. We didn't eat for five days. We tried to catch some rabbits and when we finally caught one it was alive."

Mustang gave a chuckle to that himself before he spoke. "You didn't think about how you would have to kill it."

"Not at all. Teacher left us with just a knife and I was holding it. I tried to give it to Al and he was horrified. His mind was already thinking of names for it. While we were fighting over who had to kill the poor thing. A fox came and stole it. I got bit on my right bicep from the fucking thing. We chased it down until it stopped at its den and gave the rabbit to its babies. After that we tried to catch fish and caught nothing. What made it all worse there was this crazy guy there as well that kept trying to kill us. He used to fight us every night keeping us awake and battered. Later we found out he was a friend of our teacher and was there to keep us from dying. A week went by and we were exhausted and starving. Then I figured out what one is all, all is one meant. Life's cycle. After that we caught a rabbit and I killed it. From then on we did what we had to in order to survive. We figured out how to make spears from sticks. We built a better shelter and learnt how to start a fire with nothing but sticks. We survived though and we learnt a lot that I still use to this day."

"So you're all for this survival training."

"I think it's good for soldiers to have. Even the ones that don't go out into the field anything could happen. It would be good for them to have some basic survival training in case they get stranded somewhere. I just don't want to do this shit."

"I can see how it would be good for people who do need it. I don't want to do it either. But at least we can suffer together." Mustang said with a smirk.

"Great." Ed rolled his eyes playfully.

Mustang got up and grabbed their empty plates and brought them into the kitchen before he returned and leaned over Ed and kissed him. Ed grabbed Mustang by the back of his neck and pulled him down as Ed laid back on the bed. Mustang moved so he was above Ed, but pulled back from the kiss for a moment.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm alright. Just watch my knee."

"Nice and slow this time." Mustang said softly against Ed's lips.

Ed gave a soft moan as Mustang continued to kiss Ed. This was something they had missed with the past two months. Even though they had been together for a short amount of time they both felt this strong connection to the other. It was like they had known each other for decades. They had never felt that connection before, even with each other, but that first kiss changed everything. They wanted to be with each other even if it wasn't for sex. Just holding the other was enough for them. Tonight was all about them and then tomorrow it would be about the team. Tonight was theirs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was five thirty in the morning when Mustang and Ed arrived at the train station. The very clearly annoyed look on Ed's face spoke volumes about how tired he still was and how annoyed he was at being awake at this hour. The others were already at the train station and gave them both a warm smile. Ed went and sat down on an outside bench and closed his eyes.

"Hey Chief, how you feeling?" Havoc asked.

"Fucking wonderful." Ed grumbled.

"Not really a morning person?" Miller asked politely.

"He's not. He'll be fine in a few hours." Mustang said.

"Or six." Havoc added with a smirk.

"How are you feeling though Ed? Any pain?" Hawkeye asked.

"I'm fine just stiff." Ed said with a dismissive shrug.

"He's not that fine. His knee is still slightly swollen and his back is still sore. Which means he cannot be lifting anything heavy." Mustang said with a pointed glare at Ed,

"Ya, ya, ya." Ed said as he had already heard this plenty of times this morning.

"Well there isn't much heavy lifting to be doing anyways and we got a five hour train ride ahead of us. You can sleep the whole way Big Guy." Breda said.

"I'd be sleeping right now if everyone stopped talking to me." Ed grumbled.

Havoc gave a chuckle to that as he knew better than anyone that Ed was not a morning person. He had seen Ed plenty of times in the early morning getting off a train or coming into the office to file a report. Ed liked sleep. Ed needed sleep with the weight of the automail. He didn't need it as much as he used to, but that didn't change that he still liked it.

"Too much sleep is hazardous to your health Edward." Miller said.

"Me not sleeping enough is hazardous to your health Miller." Ed easily said back.

"Ah leave the Chief alone. He'll be better later." Havoc said.

"Are we the only teams going this time around?" Fuery asked.

"It's just us. They can only send one out at a time. Within a few days another team will be sent. It needs to be staggered so the city is not left defenseless." Miller answered.

"Is it only Central?" Falman asked.

"For now, but it will go to the other headquarters after Central is complete." Miller answered.

"Fullmetal Alchemist." Some strange male voice cut through the quiet train station.

Ed's eyes snapped open at the foreign voice and turned his head to see a younger male standing just ten feet away. He had short, spiky black hair, green eyes and pale skin. He was about six inches shorter than Ed, but was younger than him as well. He was thin, very thin, like he barely was able to eat. His clothes were baggy on his thin frame they were also torn in a few spots and dirty. The boy was simply wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt, black gloves on both hands and blue jeans with old torn sneakers. He was someone that Ed didn't know.

"Ya." Ed answered, but he didn't stand up.

The young man simply clapped his hands before he bent down and placed them against the ground. It had all happened so fast and unexpected they didn't even have the chance to attack. Blue lightning brightened the morning light and metal spikes came out of the ground all around the front of Ed pointing right at him, but none touched him. They all pulled their guns and had them pointed at the new comer. Ed had watched the new guy the whole time and he wasn't worried about the spikes at all. He didn't even stand up and he could have easily avoided them.

"Get on the ground with your hands behind your back." Havoc ordered with anger within his voice.

"Put your guns down." Ed said with authority in his voice still with his eyes locked on the new comer.

"Are you serious? He tried to kill you." Breda said with anger and outrage in his voice.

"No he didn't." Ed said confidently, but they could also hear the interest in his voice.

"That's not what I'm here for. I was told that if I wanted his attention I needed to do something worthy of his attention. I needed a bold move." The man said.

"Do it again." Ed said with a slight bit of excitement in his voice.

"Are you crazy?" Havoc asked still shocked at the situation.

"Put em away. Mustang, watch." Ed said.

"Stand down." Mustang said as he lowered his gun, but didn't put it away.

The others all did the same, but it was clear they were confused and reluctant to do so.

"Do it again." Ed ordered once again.

The man didn't even say anything he just clapped his hands and touched the ground. He made the spikes disappear and returned the ground back to normal.

"He didn't use any transmutation circles." Havoc said.

"He must have them tattooed onto his hands." Miller simply said.

"He doesn't." Ed said with confidence as he stood up.

"He's seen the Gate." Mustang stated.

"Nope. You didn't see it?" Ed asked.

"See what?" Mustang asked confused.

"What's your name?" Ed asked.

"Emmett Marsh. I'm not here to hurt you. I swear it." Emmett said sounding slightly panicked now.

"I know. You wanted my attention, you certainly got it. The question is why do you want my attention so badly you were willing to risk your life and freedom for it." Ed asked.

"Screw the why. How the hell did he do that without a circle if its not how you both can." Breda asked.

"You didn't see it?" Ed asked Mustang.

"I don't know what you are talking about Fullmetal. What did I not see?" Mustang was very curious now, because it had been a long time since someone had used alchemy and he wasn't able to figure out what they did.

"It's bio-alchemy. He uses a special array that charges his blood. It could last anywhere between a couple of hours to a month dependent on how much alchemy he uses. I've never seen it before or heard of anyone being able to design an array that would work. Its specialized to work only on his blood." Ed answered.

"That's right. No one's ever been able to figure it out." Emmett said slightly surprised that Ed was able to figure out his alchemy.

"I can see it. A little trick I picked up in Xing. Alchemy flows through the body it can be felt and seen just as chakra or chi. Looks like I'm not the only prodigy up here." Ed answered.

"Well you got all of our attention now. What the hell do you want with my subordinate?" Mustang demanded.

"I'm sorry for this. But I needed to guarantee his attention. Everyone that I've spoken to told me that if I wanted The Fullmetal Alchemist to hear me out I needed to get his attention and hold it. This was the only way I could think of to do that. I want to be your apprentice." Emmett finally stated.

"You did all of this just so he would teach you?" Miller asked skeptically.

Emmett kept his attention on Ed as he spoke. "You are the best out there. I've been trying to meet you for the past two years. I've been following your movements to be able to talk to you, but I kept missing you. I've talked to local people, some who asked for you to teach them, but you turned them down. They all said that you needed to be interested in someone, excited about working with them."

"I'm not looking to teach anyone. What you can do is impressive. It's something I've never seen before and that says a lot. But I didn't turn them down because they didn't hold my attention. I turned them down because it's more than alchemic talent. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a master. There's something that I can't explain." Ed answered.

"Even if Edward was going to take on an apprentice, why would he even take someone on that has been stalking him for two years?" Miller said clearly not happy about this. He walked closer to Ed and placed himself slightly ahead of him.

"I wasn't stalking him. I was trying to talk to him, but I kept missing him." Emmett said to Miller before turning to Ed. "I wasn't stalking you and I know it's more than talent. I don't know what you are looking for in a person, maybe you don't know. But I will work my ass off to make you proud, to not let you down. I'm a beginner. I only know what I've been able to read about and that is from books I've found at libraries all over the country when I could. I don't know all of the basics. I don't know how to fight. But what I do know is that I will work every day and every night to learn everything I can. To get better. I'm not doing this to be some power hungry political enthusiast. I just want to help people. I just want to make sure that they don't have to suffer needlessly."

"Sure you are. You're a real saint. You're trying to manipulate him by playing with his heartstrings. Edward is smarter than that." Miller said.

"I'm not manipulating anyone. All I have is the truth. What good would it do me to lie to him?" Emmett said back with strength in his voice. The strength was picking up and Ed could see a flash of something in Emmett's eyes.

"Miller that's enough. Back the hell up. I don't need your protection." Ed said as he moved and stepped closer to Emmett as he spoke. "You're not lying. I can see it in your eyes. It's harder to lie than people think. Show me your arm."

"My arm?" Emmett asked confused.

"Your automail arm. Gloves cover it up, but when you clap the alchemy collides with the metal and makes a ding sound. It drives me insane because someone will hear me coming no matter how thick the glove."

Emmett looked down for a second before he moved his left hand and started to unzip his sweater. He moved it off of his right arm and Ed saw that the whole arm, like his, was gone. The automail on the other hand was horrible. It needed maintenance and was too small for him. Ed would have been shocked if Emmett was able to raise his arm passed his rib cage.

"I've had it for two years. Since I was thirteen." Emmett said before he put his sweater back on.

"It's low grade and too small for you now. You have to be in an extreme amount of pain all day. You can't even raise your arm all the way." Ed said.

"I can handle the pain. I'm used to it. I started to save for it when I was eight. It's all I've been able to afford. I can still do what I need to do with it. It won't slow me down."

"You're uncomfortable with it." Ed easily stated.

"Where I'm from people are not comfortable with it. I've had some problems during my travels from it." Emmett said and it was clear he was embarrassed about it.

"Some people are assholes. How'd you lose it?" Ed asked as he knew that a great deal of the population had a problem with something that was different and unnatural.

"Most people say I did something stupid. That I was reckless and a fool." Emmett said with a great deal of sadness in his voice. But Ed could still see some fire in his eyes. "I come from a really small village. A poor village. One night we were home, my parents and my younger brother. I was eight and he was four, Jerome. We lived in Xino it's right on the border of Creta. There were civil wars going on throughout the border area of Creta. Other small villages had already been hit from the attacks. Cretians had invaded the village before trying to find any rebels that they thought had fled to the villages along the border. They came in with explosives and before any of us knew it the whole village was blowing up. My father was by the window and he died instantly from a blast right on our house. My mother had burned to death while I was passed out. My brother and I were the only ones left alive from the attack. He had a metal pole right through his stomach. My whole right arm was pinned under a steel beam. It landed right before my shoulder. I could see my brother. He was crying and losing a lot of blood. I knew I had to do something. There was a shard of metal from the roof. I had to do something. I dislocated my shoulder and used the shard to cut my arm off. I saw through it and I didn't stop until I was free. It took about fifteen minutes. Afterwards, I grabbed a towel from the floor and wrapped it. Then grabbed my brother and ran from the house. Everyone was dead though and the closest village was a thirty minute walk. I made it halfway before he died in my arms. I passed out and when I woke up I was in some makeshift hospital."

"You cut off your own arm to save your brother that didn't have a chance of survival? People are right, you are an idiot." Miller said.

"Shut the hell up." Ed said with venom dripping from his voice.

"I'm not an idiot. He was my little brother. It was my job to protect him. To take care of him. What's an arm if it's against his life? Someone else could have been alive out there. Someone might have been able to help me with him. The pole could have not hit anything vital. I didn't know and I would do it again if it was his life. If that makes me an idiot, then I'll gladly be an idiot." Emmett said with fire in his eyes.

"And we would be idiots to just believe what you just said. You're a stalker. You will say whatever you need to so you can manipulate Edward. We're not going to let you." Miller snapped back.

"How the hell do you shut him up?" Ed asked Mustang the anger clear in his voice.

"Miller, keep quiet, that's an order." Mustang demanded.

"I'm not lying." Emmett said back.

"I know you're not. And I know you're not a stalker. You're also not an idiot. You did what a big brother is supposed to do. I lost my right arm binding my brother's soul to a suit of armor. We made a huge mistake and I was not going to let him be the only one to pay for it. I risked everything for him. I drew arraries in my blood on my whole body, including my heart and mind. Offered whatever they wanted to take for his soul. That price was my right arm and I would do it again to protect him. It's what you do. Its why I became a State Alchemist. What do you want from this? Are you looking to be in the military?"

"I have no problems with having to be military. If being a State Alchemist brings me closer to helping people then I will. I know that would require at some point for me to take a life. I don't believe in killing. I've seen enough death in my life to know that it only brings more pain and hatred. Killing solves nothing in the long run. However, I will not be the type of man that stands by and watches an innocent person gets killed because I refused to intervene in fear of taking a life. I want to learn from you. I know I could learn from hundreds of other teachers, but you also share the strong belief in not taking a life. I want to learn from someone who has a strong moral code. I've had interest before from other teachers, but they've only been interested in what my alchemy can do to harm someone. Or to manipulate someone. That's not what I want out of my life. I just want to help, that's all." Emmett answered.

Ed was quiet for a moment just looking at Emmett. The others didn't know what he was looking for or what Ed was going to do. They all expected that he would turn this guy down and they would board the train that was coming shortly. After a moment Ed spoke.

"Someone very wise once told me that a spark makes all the difference. Without it a person is dead. I didn't really understand what he meant. Now I do. That look in your eyes, underneath all the pain is fire. I know that look. I used to see it every time I looked in the mirror it was there staring back at me. I didn't realize how long it's been since I've seen it. I've had a lot of offers from people. Some young, some older than I am looking for me to train them. But I've always turned them down. Nothing about them made me excited. Nothing has made me excited in three years now almost. I finally feel it again." Ed was quiet again for a moment just keeping his eyes on Emmett and Mustang knew Ed was debating with himself if he should be doing this or not.

"Hey Mustang, that thing we talked about before. You still stand by it?" Ed asked keeping his eyes on Emmett.

"One hundred percent." Mustang responded as he knew what part Ed meant.

"I have no interest in an apprentice. But I do need a partner. Someone that goes out on missions with me, does research with me. I'll teach you everything I know." Ed said and Emmett cut him off.

"And I'll teach you what I know." Emmett easily agreed.

"You sure you really want to do this?" Ed asked, but he already knew the answer.

"More than anything in this world."

Ed held his hand out as he spoke with a smile. "This is gonna be fun."

"I'm looking forward to it." Emmett said as he easily took Ed's hand with his own automail hand.

"Me too. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is my commanding officer and by extension yours. Brigadier General Mustang. He issues out the missions and who we report to."

Mustang took Emmett's hand as he spoke. "It's a pleasure to have you on the team."

"It's an honor to be here Sir." Emmett said still clearly in shock at the situation.

"This is my team; First Lieutenant Hawkeye, Second Lieutenant Havoc, Second Lieutenant Breda, Warrant Officer Falman, Sergeant Major Fuery and finally Sergeant Miller." Mustang said as he pointed to each one.

Emmett shook everyone's hand and Havoc picked up on his slight distress with having to use his automail hand so much. Havoc gave a warm smile as he spoke.

"Don't worry about that shit with your arm. No one here gives a shit about something like that. And if anyone gives you shit in Central military wise you tell us and we'll handle it. We don't tolerate anything like that."

"Havoc's right. You don't take shit from anyone, especially about something as stupid as you having a different arm then other people." Breda added.

"Thanks." Emmett said clearly overwhelmed with the feeling of acceptance.

"We are all leaving for a survival training course for two weeks. When we return I will have you sign all of the necessary documents and then yourself and Fullmetal can go about doing whatever it is you wish. When you are both out on missions until Emmett has proven he can handle himself in hand to hand combat Havoc will be joining you both. Assuming that is still alright with you?" Mustang said to Havoc.

"Absolutely." Havoc easily agreed.

"He'll accompany you both on all missions. He can also help you Emmett, to learn hand to hand as well." Mustang said.

"Between me and the Chief you'll be a master in a fight in no time." Havoc said with confidence.

"Where are you living now?" Ed asked.

"I'm on the streets. Have been since I was eight. I'm used to it." Emmett said with a shrug.

"How do you buy food?" Fuery asked sadly.

"I work odd jobs where I can. I did that when I left the makeshift hospital to get the money to pay for my arm. I walk everywhere so I don't have to pay money for travel. I can make enough to eat once a day, sometimes twice. All my family died that day, along with everyone else in my hometown. I'm used to it." Emmett said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"You're gonna need to get used to a different life then. First things first, I'm putting you on a train to Resembool. Ask the girl at the ticket booth where the Rockbell's house is. Winry and Granny Pinako are there, Winry will make you an all new arm that will be carbon plated. It'll be eighty percent lighter and be able to handle the heat and cold. The lighter weight will reduce the pain you feel to more of an annoyance level some days and most days you won't even know it's there. Winry does all of my automail and she's the best there is. And don't worry about costs the military picks up the tab." Ed started.

"Really?" Emmett asked shocked.

"Ya. Make sure you listen to em about recovery. Winry might want to replace your plate too so brace yourself for some pain. Take two weeks to rest there and do whatever physio they tell you to do. They got me back in perfect shape with two limbs inside a year. They know what they are talking about. I have some basic alchemy books there, read em. First step to alchemy is mastering the basics." Ed continued.

"I will. I promise I will do everything they recommend."

"We'll be back on the fifteenth day in the mid afternoon. Meet us at Central HQ and I'll get you registered in a dorm room for you to stay at while we're in the city. I have a two week vacation when I get back we can use that time to get to know each other and do some research."

"Ya ok that sounds great. This is all really unbelievable right now." Emmett said clearly overwhelmed.

"You'll get used to it. I better call Winry and Granny and let them know you're coming." Ed said with a warm smile as he headed into the train station.

"I promise I won't let any of you down. I'll make you proud." Emmett said to the others.

"I have no doubt you will be a great member to this team." Mustang said as his normal political self.

"How are you feeling about all of this?" Fuery asked as he could see that Emmett was in shock by the sudden change in his life.

"It's all so overwhelming. I came here dreaming of being The Fullmetal's apprentice, but I refused to allow myself to truly believe it would happen. Now my whole life has changed and for the first time in so many years I'm excited for what tomorrow will bring. I know it's going to be a lot of hard work, but it'll be good hard work."

"You will be fine. Some people are just born to do this type of life and you seem like one of those people. You'll get into the swing of things and it'll feel like you've always done it." Breda said trying to sound supportive. Emmett would have to prove himself to all of them, but they were all willing to give him a chance if Ed was willing to stand by him.

"I hope so. I don't want to disappoint or let anyone down."

"I'm sure you will do great. Edward will teach you everything he can to ensure that you survive and succeed." Hawkeye said.

"We operate as a team, we're all there for each other. If you have any questions or concerns you can come to any of us and we'll do our best to help you." Mustang said.

"I appreciate that." Emmett said with a warm smile.

"Do you have any family Marsh?" Miller asked still guarded by this new comer.

"No I don't. It was just us before the attack. My family had lived within that village for generations. Sadly I'm the only one left." Emmett answered with pain still in his voice.

"And how long have you been following Edward around?" Miller pressed.

"Since he started to make a name for himself I've been interested and keeping an ear out about him. After the attack on Central City and what he did to bring down that threat I've actively pursued looking for him. I've come close a few times, but have missed him by an hour or two. Everyone I've spoken to about him speaks very highly of him. He's created quite the name for himself and built a new name for the military."

"He has and the military is working on being worthy of the name Fullmetal has bled for. With each new younger generation that joins we become one step closer to being a better military that people can trust and rely on." Mustang said.

"You can tell that people are becoming more acceptive of the military within their villages. You have done a lot of great work General Mustang to improve the reputation as well." Emmett said with a warm smile.

"Thank-you, I appreciate that. We've worked very hard to do our part in improving the military's reputation. I'm glad to hear that all that work has not been in vain." Mustang said.

"How did you know that Edward was back in Central? Or at the train station?" Miller asked.

"I arrived in Central three days ago. I didn't know if he would be within Central or not, but I knew he would return eventually. I was outside of Headquarters when I overheard two soldiers speaking about how The Fullmetal Alchemist was having to leave after just returning to the city. I came here hoping to catch him before he left." Emmett explained, not even bothered by the lack of trust on Miller's part. He knew that it sounded bad, but he would prove that his intentions were pure.

"It's an amature mistake for any soldier to be speaking of another out in public. Those two soldiers could have put Edward at risk." Miller said to Mustang and it was clear that he was not happy about what he had heard.

"Fullmetal can protect himself better than anyone. However, I will put out a memo about speaking outside of headquarters regarding fellow soldier's locations." Mustang said as he too was not happy that someone found Ed so fast and because of a fellow soldier's mishap.

Ed walked out of the train station with a ticket in his hand and a smile on his tired face.

"It's all taken care of. My brother Alphonse is there with Winry. He is going to meet you at the station. He said he would also pull some books for you to go over for when you get there. He's pretty excited to show you some cool things."

"I've heard a lot about him. It'll be an honour to meet him. I'll learn everything I can." Emmett said sounding very excited himself.

"Here's your ticket. Train leaves in two hours." Ed said as he handed Emmett his ticket.

"Thank-you so much. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for all of this." Emmett said truly overwhelmed with Ed's generosity.

"You work hard and you watch my back. Just like I'll watch yours. Don't push yourself too hard though with the physio. In a month we'll be out of here and on some mission somewhere. You don't want to push yourself and not be able to go anywhere. Be smart about it and take breaks when you need em."

"I promise I will listen to them both about it and not push myself. I won't jeopardize any of this."

"Don't be surprised if Al questions you for the whole time. He likes to meet new people and learn everything about them. He also likes to teach so be prepared for a lot of talking."

"I'm perfectly good with that. I love meeting new people and learning something new. I'm looking forward to it and whatever we will be doing upon your return."

"Research mostly at first. There's this device I'm looking into, trying to see how it works."

"What type of device if you don't mind my asking."

"I got it off my last opponent. He was wearing a device that blocked all alchemic attacks on him. I want to see how it works and who would invent such a device."

"That is some high-level technology. Where did you fight him?"

"He was eliminating villages along the Creta Southern Border."

"Could he have been from Aerugo?"

"It's possible. We weren't far from it. Why?"

"Aerugo is mostly peaceful right now, especially after Fuhrer Bradley is no longer in power. But roughly six years ago I was passing through just on the border edge. I was grabbed, knocked out, when I woke up I was in a cell with twenty other people, all different nationalities. I don't know much about the group, but they were looking for a way to use bio-alchemy against their enemies. They kept us mostly in the cell, but they would take us out one at a time and ask us questions and see if we could do alchemy. They all knew that our culture had experience with bio-alchemy. They targeted us and grabbed the ones they could. Not everyone made it out." Emmett said and it was clear that it was still a painful memory.

"Do you know where you were or who took you?" Mustang asked.

"It was some factory or warehouse. It was really big. They had different labs all over the place with their own scientists. Their focus was bio-alchemy and any way they could use it against their enemies. One lab though, they were working on different device inventions that could be used to control someone. To put someone's alchemic power into a device. They were attacked one night though by these masked men. They killed everyone they could, even some of the hostages. Only a handful of us were able to escape. The Aerugo Government covered the whole thing up. There was no press about it at all and anyone with knowledge of it was ordered into silence."

"So it could be possible that six years later someone that had access to that organization, or knew of it was able to create a device similar to the one they were looking to do themselves." Falman said.

"It's possible." Emmett said.

Their train pulled into the station and their conversation would have to continue for another day.

"This is us. I'll see you when we get back." Ed said.

"Be safe out there." Emmett said.

"You too."

"It was a pleasure to meet you all and I look forward to seeing you again." Emmett said to the others.

"It's good to have you part of our team. We'll talk soon." Mustang said as he held his hand out, which Emmett easily took.

"I'm looking forward to it Sir."

"Have fun with Al and Winry. And take care." Havoc said.

Emmett gave a nod and watched as they all loaded onto their train and eventually pulled out of the station. He had a two hour wait until his train would arrive so Emmett went and sat down on the bench with a huge smile on his face and hope in his eyes. On the train Ed went and sat down in one of the seats on the right side of the train with his feet up on the seat across from him. Havoc sat across on the other bench but not next to the window to allow Ed some leg room. Havoc knew that Ed's leg was still very sore from his last mission. Mustang and Hawkeye sat in the left side of the train with the others close by. They had the whole train car to themselves, something they were all thankful for. Once the train pulled out Ed continued to look out the window as Miller spoke.

"How do we know we can trust this Marsh? We shouldn't just take him at his word."

"You think he's lying?" Fuery asked.

"I'm not saying he is, but it's possible that he is lying just to get close to Edward or the rest of us. The easiest way in would be through Edward and his good heart." Miller said.

"I'm not an idiot Miller. I know when someone is lying to me. You can't fake emotion like that. And I don't appreciate you implying that I'm the weak link in this chain." Ed said as he turned to look over at Miller.

"I'm not saying you are, but your heart isn't military. You care about people, that's not a weakness, but it does make it an easy way inside your walls. You can't say you know one hundred percent that he doesn't have something shady in his background." Miller argued back.

"I know that. Its why I called Armstrong to have him look into Emmett. He'll know everything about him before we even get back. He won't find anything though. At least nothing that is a game changer."

"I was going to have Armstrong look into him when we returned. It's good that now we will already know before any paperwork is signed. You're paranoia paid off this time Fullmetal." Mustang said with a smirk.

"Hm." Ed simply said as he turned his attention back out the window and it was clear his mind had gone back to thinking about something. Mustang would put his life on it that Ed's mind was occupied by the device and what he had just learnt from Emmett.

"The kid has been through a lot. He was what, fifteen maybe sixteen. He lost his whole family, his arm and then he was kidnapped by some kind of organization. He could use some love and care." Havoc said as he felt for Emmett.

"Is it possible what the organization was after? I know bio-alchemy has come a long way over the decades, but to actually be able to use it so they could control someone or implant it into a device." Hawkeye asked slightly skeptical about the whole idea.

"In theory you could do it if you had the right formula to use. The problem is every person has a different biological makeup. You would need to change the formula to suit them." Mustang answered.

"Unless you design an alchemic formula that adapts and changes on it's own to the new user." Ed said more to himself and it caused everyone to look over at him.

"That's not possible. Alchemy can't act on its own." Mustang said.

Ed didn't even respond and it was clear his mind was too deep into his own thoughts that the others didn't even exist.

"Well that'll keep him busy for the whole trip." Havoc said with a smile.

"It's also going to bother him until he finds the answer." Breda added.

"You are aware that he will want to find any documents on what happened to Emmett and see what they were able to discover." Hawkeye said to Mustang.

"I know. I'll put in the call when we get back and see what can be found. Hopefully it doesn't lead to anything dangerous or war." Mustang answered.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. The Chief is just gonna look for answers and then stop anyone who invented the device. It shouldn't be too bad." Havoc said.

"Besides, what are the odds of him discovering Homunculi and an immortal being with the power of a God happening again?" Breda asked with a smirk.

"Hopefully low, but knowing Fullmetal. At least he won't be alone this time around." Mustang said clearly expecting the worst coming out of this.

"I'll keep him safe Boss." Havoc promised.

"I know you will."

"Hopefully we all make it through this survival training without getting eaten by a bear." Breda half joked.

"Is that a possibility?" Fuery asked with worry.

"Not likely. You don't bother them, they won't bother you." Havoc said.

"It'll be fine. When we arrive at the station we will be driven to our designated area for the next two weeks and given our supplies. It's going to be just like camping for two weeks." Mustang explained.

"We'll all be fine. Edward knows how to do everything we need to survive. He can teach us a lot." Miller said.

"He also needs to rest. He won't be the one doing everything. He's still sore, injured and exhausted. Fullmetal can teach us, but then we are all going to take turns with hunting, gathering water and building a fire. He shouldn't be medically cleared for this." Mustang said in his order tone.

"Should he be going on this training? Maybe he should have been taken to the hospital like I thought." Miller said with concern throughout his voice.

"He'll be fine. He just needs to take it easy. If we all pay attention to him teaching us he'll be fine."

"We'll make sure that he doesn't do too much. He should be able to just rest the whole time after the first day." Breda said.

"He actually can't. The overwatch patrol reports all of the team's activity. If he or any of us doesn't do our fair share then privileges will be taken away or a punishment will be given. He'll have to rest in between jobs, there's no exceptions. My Father is very strict about it." Miller said.

"But he's injured." Fuery said in Ed's defense.

"It doesn't matter. As long as he isn't fatally wounded he expected to do his share. It's meant to be just like it would if all of our lives were at risk. No dead weight." Miller answered.

"It'll be fine. We'll make it work. There won't be much to do during the day anyways. He'll be fine." Mustang said as he turned to look at Ed who had been completely lost in his own mind that he didn't even hear the conversation going on around him.

"We'll all be fine." Hawkeye said with a stern voice.

That was one thing they all could agree on. This was not going to be what broke them. Two weeks camping would not destroy this team or any of its members. They would pull through and be stronger for it in the end. Only they had no idea what was in store for them out in the wilderness.


End file.
